Author's Note: So, how was everyone Thanksgiving? Well, now that we've all worked off that turkey and pie from spending Black Friday shopping I thought you might enjoy a little fanfic. Please read and review.

Kiiroibara

Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.
-Erich Fromm

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.
-William Makepeace Thackeray

Gene Khan could not stand James Rhodes.

There was no specific reason for his animosity. It wasn't hatred, the only person he truly hated was Zhang. He had neither the time nor the energy to waste hating the other boy.

It wasn't logical or planned. There was no "a-HA!" moment he could point to and consider the direct cause of his dislike. There was merely minute but multiple reasons why he couldn't stand the sanctimonious little cretin who seemed to determined to stand between Gene and Stark in a futile effort to save the teen genius from the "bad influence" the young Mandarin represented. He doubted his feelings of dislike were greatly reciprocated; Rhodes didn't seem capable of the sort of deep emotions true antagonism. Gene would be greatly surprised if the dark haired boy experienced anything more acrimonious beyond mild aversion.

He supposed it started when he first enrolled in Tomorrow Academy when Rhodes didn't echo Stark's stupidly friendly welcome. Really, Tony was as naive and trusting as a puppy who rewarded a kick to the head with undying devotion.

"He seemed kind of...like he's above all this, all smug and superior..."

Gene gritted his teeth as he overheard what Rhodey said about him and tried to ignore the deranged gorilla that was Happy Hogan. The last thing he wanted, or needed, was a fanboy hanging around when he should be pumping Tony Stark for information under the guise of budding friendship. He slammed his locker loudly to make sure the upstart peasant knew he had been heard. Gene was the last Khan, descended from The Genghis himself. No high school kid had the right to judge him.

After that the Mongolian boy made a point of needling Rhodes whenever possible, mocking the other boy for not asking for Gene's help when Rhodey and his pretty redhead motormouth were trying to sneak Stark in where he wasn't wanted. The last Khan also tried to tutor the clueless Tony for Drama class, but watching the fellow "high-profile rich kid" interact with his lackeys...friends...made the Asian teen feel strangely bereft. Perhaps it was the easy camaraderie and trust they shared. He needed no reminders of how alone he was, especially amongst the Tong. They were loyal only to Zhang and he felt even the kindest among them; his driver and her husband before her (until a Maggia missile had destroyed his limo the day he and Stark were kidnapped) merely tolerated him out of pity.

Mother.

After over ten years it never ceased to cause his heart to clench when he thought of her. Her skin was moonlight and her voice a nightingale. She was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen and he remembered how she smelled; like ginger blossoms and green tea. He breathed in and recalled how rough the clothes she wore felt against his cheek when she embraced him. Mother's belongings were few and limited to only what was practical. The royal descendant lived her life of genteel poverty with grace and dignity and he had worshiped her as his own personal goddess.

Then Zhang came into their lives and dimmed her sacred light. She rarely laughed or smiled any more and waited until his stepfather was away from home to tell him stories of the first Mandarin. Mother visibly flinched when the frightening man tried to touch her, which angered the crimelord and he raged at her about her wifely duties. Temugin knew, though his mother had never told him, the only reason she'd married Zhang was because the man had threatened her son's life. It shamed him he was not old enough or powerful enough to help her. But when he was the Mandarin...yes...all would bow to him and his mother would be honored above all other women. He rather enjoyed the thought of Zhang kowtowing at his feet in fear and awe of the true master.

Then Mother had died and left him alone with Zhang. Officially she had died because of poisonous plants that had gotten mixed up in the wheat they used to make flour but Temugin had never believed that story. Even if the old man had nothing to do with Mother's passing, he had not even waited for her body to grow cold before removing the Makluan Ring from around her neck.

Temugin had raged in private about the death of his mother, the unfairness. Why had she married Zhang? Why not run away where he could never find them? She had possessed the ring of the Mandarin. Why had she not used the ring to kill Zhang?

Why did you die?

Now...now I have no one...

Gene had rather enjoyed hitting Rhodes in the head with a rock. The annoying nuisance ranted on and on about how Gene was bad for Tony while the last Khan had countered by mocking Rhodey for being "Tony's Mom." Fine, Rhodey didn't like him. He didn't care, even though he hated seeing the distrust in the other boy's eyes, as if Rhodes saw right through Gene and knew him for what he really was; pathetic. Weak. Unworthy of the Mandarin's legacy. Gene had rescued the sorry snot anyway before the temple could collapse on Rhodes' thick skull. How dare the other boy not trust him! Even though...he really wasn't trustworthy. In fact, the young Mandarin planned to use Stark to regain his rightful place in the world.

And then...and then...

I'll bring you back, Mother. I swear it.

They had finally gotten the ox-like Hogan to leave after he'd regaled them with his misadventures as Iron Man. Really, Evil could always triumph if Good was consistently that dumb. Whitney Stane had called her driver and departed. Gene rather liked her. She had class.

Gene, Rhodey, Pepper and Tony were finally alone to discuss Makluan ring strategy and the last Khan heaved a quiet sigh of relief at the sudden silence.

"Thought I heard you boys down here. Who's hungry?"

Gene's breath caught in his throat despite himself. He'd heard that melodic voice before when he was looking for Stark and Pepper at the armory and knew it to be Roberta Rhodes, Rhodey's mother. Now he could see her face and it was glorious. Raven hair framed bistre eyes and chocolate skin. There were silver streaks in her hair but these served only to enhance her beauty, not detract.

"Hey, Roberta!" Tony called out casually while Pepper's enthusiastic wave was rife with nervous energy. Rhodey's expression was guilty but welcoming.

She smiled at the group but Gene could tell her eyes missed nothing and he pitied anyone foolish enough to oppose her. Her voice was cinnamon warm with affection and amusement.

"I was thinking of making beef stew and wanted to know how many to cook for. Pepper, you're more than welcome to stay, so is...?" Roberta Rhodes raised her eyebrows in silent inquiry.

"Gene. Gene Khan, ma'am." The Mandarin in disguise put on his best polite smile and strode forward, offering his hand. She took it and her smile increased, returning the handshake with what seemed to be genuine pleasure.

"I could use some help in the kitchen, Gene. How are you at peeling and chopping?"

"Better than Ginsu." Gene offered a reassuring smile to Pepper and a smirk to a disapproving Rhodey as he followed Roberta to the kitchen.

"Uh...no, Rhodey. I don't think he's gonna hit on your mom," he heard Stark say as he headed out.

"So, how do you like the Academy?"

The last Khan looked up from the potatoes he was peeling over to where Roberta Rhodes was browning meat before placing it in the pressure cooker.

"It's all right." He placed the potato carefully in a bowl of water to prevent discoloration and selected another. Scrubbing the skin carefully, he added, "I was lucky to meet Tony, Pepper, and your son my first day. They actually make it kinda bearable."

She laughed and seemed to pick out the hidden meaning under his tactful words. "And I bet they drag you into whatever crazy thing they happen to be doing at the time, don't they?" She washed her hands and began to chop onions. "So, tell me about yourself, Gene. Where are you from originally? Do you have any brothers or sisters? What do your parents do?"

"Not much to tell," Gene did his best to make his voice nonchalant. "I'm originally from northern China, near the Mongolian border. My stepfather travels extensively because of his business interests and decided about six years ago to move to the US because he felt I'd benefit from a stable home."

Translation: Zhang was tired of carrying around a child with him like so much baggage.

"And...your mother?"

The Chinese boy was impressed. Roberta Rhodes was questioning him with such gentle tact a lesser man wouldn't have noticed she was being anything but polite. He had never witnessed such a skillful interrogation. He was careful to keep his voice steady, with just the right amount of sadness. "She died when I was very young."

"I'm sorry," Roberta told him and clearly meant it. Her compassionate gaze unnerved him and he felt guilty for deceiving her, even though they'd just met. His hands shook as he felt ashamed for accepting her sympathy when he would have willingly knocked her unconscious had she discovered him lurking about The Armory as the Mandarin.

"I'm...fine. Really." His hand slipped and the potato fell, knocking a glass measuring cup to the floor, shattering it. His hand bled onto the broken glass and he grasped it to himself, shaking.

What have you DONE, boy?

A glass. Yue dropped a glass and it cut my hand. It's nothing.

NOTHING? Your blood is precious, boy, as you constantly remind me. That servant carelessly spilled it. And on the dirty floor. Yue! You will lick up every last precious drop.

Yes, M-Mandarin!

Stepfather, no! There is glass! He will get cut!

So? He is but a servant, boy, and servants are replaceable. Do not question me again or not only will I cast him out of this house but his family as well. They will starve in the streets and you will be to blame!

Yes, Stepfather.

Mmm. You grow insolent, child. And worse, disrespectful. A traitor to the Tong has been caught and will be hanged. You will watch and learn what happens to those who earn my displeasure. Yue! Accompany him, so you may say a final farewell to your father.

Yes, Mandarin.

Gene remembered the younger boy's tear-stained face as he watched his father hang for the crime of one hundred lost yuan. His body shook with past fear and shame at the other boy's punishment. He had done nothing to help.

"Gene?"

A soft hand, surprisingly gentle, stroked his head and landed on his shoulder. He looked up and gazed into kind, worried bistre eyes. Without a word, Roberta Rhodes pulled him to his feet and held him in her arms, crooning as she did so until his shaking subsided. She smelled of vanilla and cloves; different from his mother's smell but there was an underlying scent that was purely feminine and motherly.

"I'm sorry. Blood...the blood...I can't stand the sight of blood."

Roberta pulled back and looked at him but didn't let him go. He wanted to embrace her back but pride prevented him. That and he was afraid of showing weakness in front of a stranger. A Khan did not do such things..

"Is that because of how your mom died? Forgive me, that's probably none of my business."

"Childbirth. She died in childbirth." He was surprised at how easily the lie came to him, blinking back genuine tears as he thought of how he saw her last, waxy and still, awaiting a pauper's funeral. She deserved so much more.

"Oh, Sweetheart." She held him again, tighter this time. He let the tears flow for the first time since watching the woman who sang and told him stories buried under rocky soil. He had missed this more than he would admit. The safety. The security. The love that could only come from a mother. Pure and unconditional.

They finally separated and he struggled to maintain his dignity. Dammit, he'd shown her vulnerability but could could no censure from the woman. Her eyes held tolerance and sympathy but not pity. It was refreshing to be around someone who didn't judge him on sight, whose kindness was unconditional, like...no. He wouldn't think about her. "Thank you, Missus Rhodes."

"Roberta," Her smile was teasing and her eyes shone with warmth.

"Roberta."

She pressed a business card into his hands. "This is my private cell phone number. If you ever need anyone to talk to, about anything, call me."

"I will." He stooped down and began picking up the glass when Roberta produced a whisk broom and dust pan. "I'll take care of it. You go wash your face."

"Yes, ma'am." He stopped and looked back at her in wonder. "Did you...know I needed someone to talk to?"

"Sure did." She crossed her arms over her chest, calm and confident. "Mom radar. You'd be surprised how useful it is in court, too. Besides, as the newest member of the group, I figured you wouldn't be as good as lying to me just yet. Why do you think I didn't ask my son to help?"

Gene stared at her, realizing he was grossly outclassed by her Xanatos Gambit. "Remind me never to go up against you in court."

"I'd crush you, kid." She responded without malice as she cleaned up the glass. "Let me get you a bandage for your hand. And no arguments."

"Roberta?" He asked later as she tended to his cut.

"Yes, Gene?"

"If...if you know in advance that your child could grow up to be a horrible person, like say, a criminal. Would you still have him?"

"I don't think any child raised with love and acceptable boundaries could grow up to be that way, Gene. "But...to answer your question, yes I would. Everyone deserves a chance to live and to condemn someone to that kind of life before doing my best to change their destiny would be as wrong as never having him." She looked at him closely and the Mongolian boy was reminded again of how she must dominate in a courtroom. "Is that how you feel, Gene? Are you a horrible person because you didn't prevent your mother from dying? You're not, and I think it would hurt her to hear you think that about yourself. For many women it's worth the risk and sacrifice to become a mom. I'm sure your mother felt the same. And hey, we've been doing this whole 'giving birth' thing for centuries, I think we can handle it." She hesitated and then playfully ruffled his hair before he could stop her. "Go get the others. I'll set the table. Come over next week and I'll teach you how to make gumbo."

"Yes ma'am," he smiled at her and left.

His pleasant expression faded once he was safely out of sight. Gene changed his mind. He hated James Rhodes.

But not nearly as much as he envied him.

THE END